This disclosure relates to a floating divider for harvesters, such as combine headers. The function of divider attachments or assemblies on a harvester is to untangle the vines prior to their engagement by the combine reel and cutter bar. The present apparatus is specifically adapted for the harvesting of crops such as soybeans, where entangled vines must be fed to the combine cutter bar.
Standard dividers typically provided on harvesters such as a combine header simply comprise vertical triangular walls that protrude forwardly from the cutting surfaces a relatively short distance and extend upwardly to approximately the crop height. While such dividers are reasonably effective when harvesting upright crops such as grains, they are not effective in accurately separating or untangling the swath edges of vine crops such as soybeans.
Ineffective division of the crop along the cutting swath of a harvester results in mechanical complications as the vines become entangled at the ends of the harvesting equipment. It also results in tangled masses of the crop being left to one side of the passing harvester and resulting loss of such crops. It further slows down the rate of harvest, since clearing the equipment of such entangled masses of vines is time consuming and risks potential danger to those attempting this task.
Various crop dividers have been proposed in the past. These include stationary dividers as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,454 and floating divider attachments as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,892,298, 3,885,377 and 3,967,439. These floating arrangements typically have relatively long forward extensions pivoted at the point of attachment on the conventional triangular counterbalancing springs for supporting the extended weight of the divider (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,967,439) or are so cumbersome that the divider itself damages a substantial width of the standing crop.
Other existing forms of dividers have been attached to the cutter bar rather than to the header frame. This arrangement attempts to support the divider to "float" in unison with the floating movement of the cutter bar along the ground surface. However, cutter bars are not structurally designed for the support of the added weight imposed upon them by such dividers. They undesirably stress the physical strength of the cutter bar structure and its mounting assembly.
The present apparatus totally eliminates the need for spring loading of a divider while providing an attachment having a floating snout capable of riding along the ground surface for accurate and effective crop division. The movable section of the crop divider is relatively small. It can be constructed with a relatively light total weight. This is accomplished by moving the pivotal connection for the floating divider structure forwardly from the triangular divider wall to which the attachment is mounted. An intermediate fixed divider between the movable snout and the conventional divider wall is joined to the wall and supported as an integral part of it by the usual header support apparatus. A complementary upright chimney on this fixed divider serves to untangle the upper portions of the vines. Because the chimney is fixed, this added height is accommodated without increasing the bulk or weight of the movable floating snout projection.